For various reasons, Mother’s Day is not a holiday that everyone celebrates. Rather than beatifying or idealizing mothers, this service will look at the importance of supportive, nurturing relationships and how anyone can give or receive such nurturance.

Credo is a Latin word which is generally translated as “I believe,” but its literal meaning is closer to “what I set my heart to.” Sunnyhill’s Coming of Age (COA) class (8th-grade youth) will share what is close to their hearts in this service which is a capstone of the COA curriculum.

Book of Awakening

Drawn from ideas in Mark Nepo’s book of the same name, this service will explore, in Nepo’s words “our ongoing need to stay vital and in love with this life, no matter the hardships we encounter.” How might we go about cultivating this love for life, even when the going is rough?

One of the central themes of Easter is the ultimate triumph of life over death. Even when everything around us seems cloaked in darkness, the potential of resurrection of various kinds still exists for us as individuals and for us as a society. How do we prepare to “rise up” when the time comes?

What does it mean to leave everything behind and unexpectedly set out on a journey toward some unknown promised land? How do our own individual journeys (as well as our collective journey) relate to the stories of Passover?

Perhaps the most countercultural religious message ever is this one: “Awaken!” Our culture tends to lead us toward sleepwalking through most of our lives. This sermon will explore how bringing even the tiniest bit of real awareness to this very moment—in all its horror and beauty—can change us and lure us toward changing the world.

In an era of uncertainty, disease, and social, political and economic volatility, it is good to remember some of the enduring wisdom that has helped inspire and sustain humankind. This service will look at several wisdom stories and what they might mean for us today.

Our current era is certainly characterized by a plethora of dangers, toils, and snares. How can the concept and practice of grace help us meet these challenges and prepare us for an unknown and uncertain future?

John Newton’s words to “Amazing Grace” tell the story of his great change from a man who traded slaves to a man who fought against slavery. How can belief–and especially sudden changes in belief–guide our actions and transform our lives?

Author Anne Lamott tells us, “Grace meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us.” In this first of four sermons on the theme of “Amazing Grace,” we will reflect on the meaning and implications of grace as a theological concept and as a way of living.

Welcome: Rebecca Senneway, Worship Associate

Opening Words: “Grace Meets Us Where We Are” [Gretchen Haley]

Lighting the Chalice:
For the blessing of once again gathering in person and online,
We light our chalice.
For the opportunity to create a more just and compassionate community,
We light our chalice.
For the love that sustains this community and each of our lives,
We light our chalice.

Sermon: “Amazing Grace: How Sweet the Sound,” Rev. Jim Magaw

Hymn: “Amazing Grace”
(1) Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.
(2) 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!
(3) Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come;
'tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
(4) When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun.